Metabolism/Weight Loss

Health dangers of obesity

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s definition of obesity is based on the Body Mass Index scale. This scale divides your height in feet and inches by your weight to give you a BMI number. For example, if you are five feet, four inches tall and weigh 170 pounds, your BMI would be 29.2. A BMI falling between 25 and 30 is considered “overweight”. BMIs higher than 30 are considered “obese”. However, the CDC emphasizes that BMI “correlates with the amount of body fat” you carry but is not a direct measure of body fat.^{1, 2}

What Causes Obesity?

The leading cause of obesity is simply consuming more calories than your body utilizes for energy. For everyone pound of excess body fat, you would have to burn about 3500 calories to get rid of that one pound of fat. Genetics and environment also play a role in whether you become obese as a child or an adult. Studies investigating familial obesity has found that the risk of obesity is up to eight times higher for people who have obese grandparents, parents and siblings compared to individuals without obese relatives.³

Medical Causes of Obesity

Certain medical conditions can make you vulnerable to obesity because they interfere with hormones regulating metabolism, fat distribution, appetite and satiety (the ability to feel full). Many obesity-promoting diseases are called endocrine disrupters because they disrupt normal hormonal balance:

Cushing’s syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Undiagnosed diabetes

Metabolic syndrome

Psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety and the medications prescribed to treat depression

Two hormones involved with controlling appetite, increasing metabolism and reducing muscle loss are estrogen and testosterone. Aging causes a woman’s ovaries and a man’s testes to gradually reduce their production of these hormones. That’s why it’s harder to lose weight and keep weight off in our 50s and 60s. Hormonal imbalances are also responsible for symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, insomnia, moodiness and fatigue.⁴

5 Health Dangers of Obesity ^{5, 6}

Type 2 Diabetes
Obese individuals are nearly 10 times more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes than normal or overweight people. Even when treated with diabetes medications, an obese person with type 2 diabetes is at risk for:
Heart disease
Strokes
Diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma
Hypertension
Peripheral neuropathy
Slow healing of skin ulcers that may lead to gangrenous conditions

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Obesity makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood throughout your body due to increased insulin production and higher volume of blood. Additionally, abnormally high salt levels in the bloodstream thicken arteries enough to restrict blood flow. High blood pressure is one of the primary reasons behind strokes and heart attacks.

Coronary Artery Disease
Most obese individuals have high cholesterol. Heart arteries clogged with fat deposits (cholesterol) prevent blood from supplying the heart with nutrients and oxygen essential for heart health.

Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) causes a person to repeatedly stop breathing while they are asleep. When sleep apnea episodes happen frequently enough during sleep, the brain, heart and other areas of the body are not getting enough oxygen. Obesity worsens obstructive sleep apnea because deposits of fat collect around upper airway tissues that facilitate collapse of airway tissues over the back of the throat. Health consequences of obesity-caused OSA include high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Alzheimer’s Disease
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have found a strong correlation between obesity and Alzheimer’s. Neurological studies indicate that obesity increases certain brain proteins involved in the development of AD. Imaging scans have also shown that obesity may reduce brain volume, another Alzheimer’s risk factor.

Take Control of Your Weight with Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy and Our Clean Start Weight Program

If you have been unsuccessfully trying to lose weight with diet and exercise, call us today to learn more about the benefits of BHRT and the Clean Start Weight Program. By balancing your hormones and applying medically-based principles of losing weight, you can regain your health, your energy and your vitality.

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